The 2021–22 RFU Championship Cup was the third season of the annual rugby union Championship Cup competition for second tier, professional English clubs playing in the RFU Championship. The competition returned after a 14-month hiatus, following the cancellation of the previous year's tournament and the mid season cancellation of the 2019–20 tournament.
Competition format The competition format is two-legged knockout ties with a first round of five matches, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The Championship winners, Ealing Trailfinders received a bye to the quarter-finals. The first round matches took place on 9 April, following the final round of Championship fixtures. In the competition's inaugural season, the RFU had set out the pool matches in a regional format to encourage derby games, but this year's competition format is more loosely structured.
Participating teams and locations
Club Stadium Capacity Area Ampthill Dillingham Park 3,000 Ampthill, Bedfordshire Bedford Blues Goldington Road 5,000 (1,700 seats) Bedford, Bedfordshire Cornish Pirates Mennaye Field 4,000 (2,200 seats) Penzance, Cornwall Coventry Butts Park Arena 4,000 (3,000 seats) Coventry, West Midlands Doncaster Knights Castle Park 5,183 (1,650 seats) Doncaster, South Yorkshire Ealing Trailfinders Trailfinders Sports Ground 4,000 (2,200 seats) West Ealing, London Hartpury University ALPAS Arena 2,000 Hartpury, Gloucestershire Jersey Reds Stade Santander International 4,000 Saint Peter, Jersey London Scottish Athletic Ground 4,500 (1,000 seats) Richmond, London Nottingham Lady Bay Sports Ground 3,500 Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Richmond Athletic Ground 4,500 (1,000 seats) Richmond, London
First round First leg
Second leg
Jersey Reds win 111 – 21 on aggregate
Doncaster Knights win 56 – 46 on aggregate
Hartpury University win 96 – 66 on aggregate
Coventry win 52 – 49 on aggregate
Bedford Blues win 90 – 33 on aggregate
Knock-out stage The four overall winners from round 1 along with the best two losing teams and Ealing Trailfinders will contest the two-legged quarter-finals. The competition will then be played in a single-leg straight knockout format. Quarter-finals 1st leg
2nd leg
Jersey Reds won 49 - 34 on aggregate
Cornish Pirates won 71 – 69 on aggregate
Ealing Trailfinders won 87 – 45 on aggregate
Coventry won 62 – 53 on aggregate
Semi-finals
Final
See also RFU Championship British and Irish Cup
References
External links RFU